Community Gathers for 14th Annual Daffodil Dash
The yearly race and walk honors the 1.5 million children who were killed in the Holocaust.
The air was swarming with pollen on Sunday morning, March 30, but still hundreds turned out to the 14th annual Daffodil Dash at Brook Run Park.
“We were absolutely in awe that we had over 800 people signed up for the race,” said organizer, and president of Am Yisrael Chai and the Daffodil Project, Andrea Videlfsky. “We’re just so grateful for the amazing support from the community. It’s really an important time, with rising antisemitism and hatred, for us to make sure that people always remember, but also stand up for any injustice occurring in the world today.”
In addition to the more than 800 runners, there were also close to a hundred teenage volunteers, helping check people in, and handing out T-shirts and water. Several local officials, including State Rep. Long Tran, were also present.
Runners flew past the thousands of daffodils planted around the park in memory of the 1.5 million children who died in the Holocaust. Some were still sprouting, others, like the patch planted at one of the park entrances, bloomed in a sea of yellow.
The race concluded around 10:30 a.m. with an award ceremony, and a series of speakers, shortly before it began to rain. One of the speakers was Hershel Greenblat, a local Holocaust survivor, who has spoken at several Daffodil Project events.
“It’s just an unbelievable honor to be here and represent the one-and-a-half million children that perished and hoping that it never happens again. My hopes and prayers are with all the children in the state of Israel – may we get a lasting peace soon.”
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